Tag: IKEA

IKEA likely to open first store in India on July 10 in Hyderabad

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

Listen to the Article (6 Minutes)

It has taken IKEA twelve years since in its initial proposal, but the Swedish home-furnishing giant is finally all set to open its first store in India in July.

The company, which is the world’s biggest furniture retailer, is likely to open its store in Hyderabad on July 10, said Jayesh Ranjan, secretary of Industries forTelangana.

“IKEA’s CEO is expected to inaugurate the store and the company has earmarked Rs 800 crore investment for the same,” he said.

IKEA’s management has also confirmed the Hyderabad store will open to the public in July. The store will be spread across 13 acres of land, with 400,000 square feet of built up area and over 400 employees to help customers choose from a range of over 7,500 products.

The Swedish firm operates through a franchise system and is responding to slower sales growth by pushing into new markets such as India while developing smaller city center store formats.

The company is also investing in its online services to adapt to the surge in e-commerce and home delivery which has dulled the appeal of its out-of-town warehouse stores.

IKEA’s aim is to boost its customer base to 3.2 billion in 2025 from around 1.2 billion today, in stores and online.

India has not been an easy market for IKEA to crack. An initial proposal to open a store here in 2006 was abandoned as New Delhi was very stringent  about FDI in single-brand retail at the time. Post relaxation of these norms, the company announced an investment of up to Rs 10,500 crore to open 25 stores in India by 2025.

The country’s furniture market is largely dominated by unorganized retail and local vendors, and consumers are used to enjoying the comfort of made-to-order or fully assembled furniture delivered to their doorsteps.

The “do-it-for-me” culture is very prevalent in India, said Sowmya Adiraju, an analyst at research firm Euromonitor, adding IKEA would have to look into delivery and assembly needs to woo Indians.

While IKEA’s popular DIY furniture is well known, it is also sometimes parodied as shoppers are at times overwhelmed by the task of assembling intricate units.

The Swedish retailer is setting up a 150-member team to help assemble furniture and is also partnering with UrbanClap, an app-based service that connects people with everyone from tutors to carpenters.

The IKEA in-house assembly team will be more a little more expensive than UrbanClap’s services, said Patrik Antoni, IKEA’s deputy head in India.

IKEA is also keen on ensuring the Indian consumers’ interests and shopping trends are not compromised. Keeping in-line with the company’s attempt at ensuring India is the “most cost-effective IKEA experience globally,” over a 1000 products in the Hyderabad store will bear a price tag below Rs 200.

To ensure Indians are not bogged down by the DIY or ‘do-it-yourself’ motto at IKEA, the company has even tied up with home services platform UrbanClap for assembly of its furniture.

“Skilled professionals will now be made available to IKEA customers for unpacking and assembling furniture in under 90 minutes,” Varun Khaitan of UrbanClap said.

IKEA is currently working with 50 local suppliers in India and a workforce of 45,000 direct employees. After its maiden store in Hyderabad, the company will open in Mumbai next year followed by Bengaluru and Delhi NCR. Its distribution centre in Pune is already underway.

(With input from Reuters)

Please come back to CNBC TV18.com for a sneak preview of what’s on offer at IKEA Hyderabad, Exclusive interviews with Management, a tour through IKEA’s in-store 1000-seater restaurant and all the Assembly action from the IKEA-UrbanClap corner.

Elon Musk forms several ‘X Holdings’ companies to fund potential Twitter buyout

3 Mins Read

Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow

IKEA to open its first store in India on July 10 in Hyderabad

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

Listen to the Article (6 Minutes)

Swedish furniture major IKEA is likely to inaugurate its first Indian store here on July 10, a senior official of the Telangana government said.

“They (Ikea)are likely to open their first store in India in Hyderabad on July 10. Their CEO is expected to inaugurate the outlet. They earmarked Rs 800 crore for the store. This will create many direct and indirect jobs in the state,” Jayesh Ranjan, Principal Secretary, IT and Industries, told PTI.

When contacted, a company spokesperson, without mentioning a date, said the outlet would be opened next month. “The first Ikea India store is opening in Hi tec city, Hyderabad in July 2018. We will be able to confirm the exact date very soon,” the official said in an email reply.

The investment in store is more than Rs 800 crore, including land, construction and capital goods, among others. The store will be 400,000 square foot of built up area on 13 acres, the IKEA official further said. The Swedish company had earlier said it was going to recruit about 800 people for the store, including 120 for the 1,000-seater restaurant coming up along with the outlet here. “(as on) Today we have recruited 400 workers, of which 50 per cent are women. The store will have range of 7,500 products,” the official said.

After the Hyderabad store, the second store will open in Mumbai in 2019, followed by Bengaluru and Delhi NCR,an IKEA official had earlier said. The company has also opened a distribution point in Pune. Initially, the company had earmarked Rs 10,500 crore to open about 25 stores in the country by 2025.

“We’re opening our first store in Hyderabad this July. See you there!,” Ikeasaid in its official Facebook page. In November last year, Ikea launched ‘IKEA Hej HOME’ to familiarise customers with IKEA home furnishing solutions and offer a first-hand experience of an IKEA store.

The company plans to bring Hej HOME to the other cities where it will open stores. IKEA India Sales Manager Christian Kampe had earlier said almost 1,000 products (at the upcoming store in Hyderabad) would be priced below Rs 200. “In India, IKEA currently has 50 suppliers with 45,000 direct employees and going forward we are looking at expanding this supply chain,” he had said.

Elon Musk forms several ‘X Holdings’ companies to fund potential Twitter buyout

3 Mins Read

Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow

UrbanClap to be the service partner for Ikea’s Hyderabad store

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

Listen to the Article (6 Minutes)

UrbanClap, a mobile-based services marketplace today said it has been engaged as the furniture assembly service partner for Ikea in Hyderabad.

According to a press release issued by UrbanClap, the world’s largest furniture retailer will open its first store of about 400,000 square feet property in the city this summer.

As part of this collaboration, consumers purchasing a select range of IKEA furniture from the store will be able to book furniture assembly services via the UrbanClap app or the website.

Ikea will contribute in the training of the carpenters on UrbanClap’s platform, thereby, skilling them to become professional IKEA assemblers, it said.

UrbanClap co-founder, Varun Khaitan said Ikea’s belief in UrbanClap as a partner is a source of pride, and a boost to India’s entire start-up ecosystem.

The partnership is a result of the mutual objective of the two brands to keep customer experience and efficiency at the centre of everything, he added.

“We look forward to enabling customers to enjoy the long awaited entry of IKEA into India, and are pleased to have a vital role in IKEA’s plan to provide Indians with the best furniture in the world,” Khaitan said.

IKEA India Deputy Country Manager, Patrik Antoni said, “As we get closer to the first IKEA India store opening, we are working to create a convenient and affordable service offer for Indian customers. DIY or Do it yourself is still a new concept in India and we will invest heavily to provide affordable and quality services.”

“We are happy to partner with UrbanClap, India’s largest home services platform wherein trained carpenters in Hyderabad will assemble furniture for IKEA customers’ at their homes,” he said.

The Ikea-trained carpenters will be listed on the UrbanClap platform and customers will be able to order their services.

To further strengthen the services offer, Ikea will also have an in-house team of 150 assemblers, of which today 75 are women in line with the commitment to have 50 per cent women co-workers at all levels in Ikea India, it said.

Elon Musk forms several ‘X Holdings’ companies to fund potential Twitter buyout

3 Mins Read

Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow

IKEA appoints Peter Betzel as CEO for its Indian business

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

Listen to the Article (6 Minutes)

Swedish home-furnishings company IKEA on Monday said that it has appointed Peter Betzel as the new chief executive officer (CEO) for its Indian operations.

Betzel will be taking over ex- CEO of Indian operations, Juvencio Maetzu, who will assume the role of chief financial officer (CFO) and deputy-CEO of the company globally.

IKEA will be launching its first store in India in 2018 in Hyderabad and is focused to grow its workforce from 400 to 15,000 in the coming years.

Prior to this role, Betzel was heading the company’s operations in Germany, IKEA Group’s largest market worldwide.

Elon Musk forms several ‘X Holdings’ companies to fund potential Twitter buyout

3 Mins Read

Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow